Assemblyman Shin Jeong-hoon Proposes Bill for Safety Protection of Industrial Accident Workers

‘Industrial Safety and Health Act Amendment’... Expansion of Prohibited Subcontracting for Hazardous and Dangerous Work Areas

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Congressman Shin Jeong-hoon (The Democratic Party of Korea·Naju Hwasun) announced on the 30th that he has taken the lead in proposing the “Industrial Safety and Health Act Amendment” to more actively protect the lives and safety of workers from industrial accidents.

The current law restrictively prohibits subcontracting only for tasks involving plating, smelting, injecting, processing, or heating of mercury, lead, cadmium, or manufacturing and using permitted substances.

The amendment significantly expands the scope of hazardous and dangerous tasks for which subcontracting is prohibited under the current law.

It prohibits subcontracting for operations such as the operation and maintenance of machinery at power plants, steel mills, shipyards, and construction sites, and establishes a legal basis to allow the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance and Prevention Review Committee to regularly review and continuously add prohibited subcontracting tasks.

In this regard, the National Human Rights Commission has recommended the government expand the scope of prohibited subcontracting by considering various factors such as changes in industrial structure, the characteristics of each industry, workplaces, work environments, tools, machinery, equipment, and work processes.

Furthermore, the amendment allows workers or their families and survivors affected by serious industrial accidents, labor unions to which the affected workers belong, and residents of nearby areas where serious industrial accidents occurred to request the Minister of Employment and Labor to inspect the Process Safety Report.

This aims to strengthen the right to access information in case of accidents such as hazardous material leaks, fires, and explosions, ensuring the right to know while also providing reference materials to clearly identify the employer’s responsibility and causes.

Additionally, the Minister of Employment and Labor is mandated to disclose workplaces and employers who conceal the occurrence of industrial accidents.

An Industrial Accident Concealment Information Review Committee will be established within the Ministry of Employment and Labor to review whether to disclose personal information of such employers, and the specific details, duration, and methods of disclosure will be delegated to the Ministry’s ordinances.

Congressman Shin Jeong-hoon stated, “The lives and safety of workers must no longer be neglected in the face of economic logic pursuing profit.”

He added, “Since the foreign exchange crisis, indirect employment has indiscriminately spread across all industries and sectors, reducing quality jobs, and it is common for employers to evade responsibility through complex subcontracting contracts. We must more actively restrict the ‘outsourcing of risk’ and complement legal blind spots to create a working environment befitting South Korea’s economic status.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.